I am very much on the UC wagon now and am trying to get the things I need in place since the baby will probably be ready soon. My first child was born as *naturally* as possible after transferring to the hospital (I had no support among other reasons) but was an awful nightmare and I was treated horribly and we were separated out of spite for four days. I do NOT want to go to a hospital with this one.

My only real concerns are legal and the bleeding issue, and I have read that Shepherd's Purse and Cayenne Pepper are good for both of those. Any suggestions for making sure the bleeding thing is taken care of if it is an issue? I plan to breastfeed immediately and not do any traction at all, so hopefully it will be a non-issue anyway.

Also, if I do not have a scale to weigh the baby - does that matter? Are there any 'rules' on taking the length measurements?

The biggest concern I have is the legal issues after the birth. I am so afraid of 'getting in trouble' with authorities or raising red flags by having a homebirth in the first place, and even more so with a UC. I saw a midwife in my previous state before I moved to MO but that was in the first trimester. I guess I could get 'proof of pregnancy' from her but I am not sure how much she would provide legally. I do not want to deal with the health dept. or an OB and would just like to stay under the radar so-to-speak.

Will the Dept. of Vital Statistics give me grief if I don't go to the hospital after the birth? Will they call CPS on me or otherwise make my life awful if I don't do things a certain way? The last thing I need is a knock at the door after a successful UC and people causing me more unnecessary stress. I am more afraid of the hospital and the governmental agencies than I am to birth at home. Is it possible that a midwife in the area would be able to do a well-baby check within the first 2 weeks or do I have to go to a pediatrician (and is there one that is ok with avoiding and/or delaying vax and needless newborn checks)?

I have been under TREMENDOUS stress in my life due to my husband walking out and going through this entire pregnancy alone - I really need some support from those of you who know what I am going through!

First of all you are right about all of the ways to prevent problems, with no cord traction and the cyanne pepper.

I understand your concerns about outside interference. However, there is nothing that is not legal/criminal about not wanting/going through with any sort of treatment. Ask the midwife to send you your file. You should not need it. No you do not have to weigh or measure the baby unless you want to. You can use a cheap fish scale from walmart with a scarf or receiving blanket. The only medical people that touched my baby was at a WIC intake. I refused any blood draws. I had to go to the vital stats office and answer a bunch of stupid questions but I got the BC the same day. They lied to me when I called on the phone to ask for an application, by saying that I had to take my baby to a ped to prove he existed. I read the law pertaining to Birth Certificates. They are required to issue it no matter what. I suggest video recording your birth if there is any doubt that you gave birth. You are under no requirement to do anything and it is all perfectly legal not to. You can wait as long as you want to take your child in for a check up. Just don't answer questions or give out any more info than necessary.

My recommendation is to relax. Not to blindly relax without learning something from your worrying, but I believe that assuming you are having a healthy pregnancy it's very likely you will have a wonderful experience with no problems- legal or otherwise.

I'm sorry to hear about your marital troubles. Take care of yourself, mama.

My other recommendation is to gather the support you need for yourself, but please consider telling only people you know are super supportive about UC about your plans. These will probably be people who have done it themselves before. That way you can pretty much discount any worry about CPS.

I would not worry about the Vital Statistics office. They are not there to make judgements. They are there to do paperwork.

I would look around for a midwife or friendly doctor to see your baby instead of a pediatrician. But keep in mind that not all midwives are UC friendly. It might be worth contacting some midwives as if you were considering using them for your pregnancy, just to get a feel for how they might feel about UC.

you wont have any legal problems in MO. UC is not illegal. i had absolutely no issues acquiring a BC for DD almost 3 years ago, the home birth dept at vital statistics was extremely helpful and walked me through the process in filling out the BC form.

for bleeding i took arnica during and after labor. i also had a placenta smoothie soon after birth (milk, 2 inch chunk of placenta and whey protein mix)

we used the wii fit to get a weight and took DD to the pet store the next day to confirm. you can buy a baby scale though (i had one with first Dd but it broke)

i dont know about the well baby check (we've never taken our home birth babies in) i assume you may want to find a ped if you cant get a midwife to do it